Wealth management

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said its daily average client trades reached record levels last month.

Ivy Asset Management Corp., a hedge fund of funds and alternative investment management unit of Bank of New York Mellon Corp., opened an office in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Putnam Investments has put Jenny S. Morton in charge of its global consultant relations.

Though the recent U.S. market turmoil has made it harder to save, investors continue to open 529 college savings plans.

John Hancock Financial announced Tuesday that its 2007 sales of variable annuities in the bank channel rose 41%, to $1.4 billion.

Assets held in U.S. exchange-traded funds declined last month because of poor market conditions, not a lack of interest in the product.

The chief executive of BNY Mellon Asset Management said it expects to generate more than half of its revenue from outside of the United States within the next three or four years and, unlike its rivals, it expects to achieve that goal without further acquisitions.

Prudential Financial Inc.'s retirement division has hired Frank Waltman to head its investment products team.

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Moody's Investors Service cut FGIC Corp.'s key bond insurer ratings but indicated it might be more lenient with MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc., saying they "are better positioned from a capitalization and business franchise perspective."

Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, the U.S. private-client services division of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Deutsche Bank's private wealth management division, said it has hired three client advisers for its Dallas office and one for Boston.

Ramifications from the Pension Protection Act's effect on investor inertia, changes to Rule 12b-1's regulation of expenses, and a possible mandate by the Securities and Exchange Commission on independent directors are among the chief concerns of the mutual fund industry's top executives.

WisdomTree Investments Inc., a New York exchange-traded fund manager, received approval to sell some of its products in Chile.

BNY ConvergEx Group LLC, a unit of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. that provides global agency brokerage and investment technology, has established a U.K. broker-dealer, BNY ConvergEx Ltd.

H. Beck Inc., the Rockville, Md., broker-dealer arm of Capital Financial Group Inc., plans to launch an open architecture platform through a partnership with FundQuest Inc., a Boston provider of turnkey managed accounts for financial institutions and advisers.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Springfield has elected two new board members.

Wachovia Corp.'s Evergreen Investments plans to prohibit the opening of accounts in the Evergreen Global Opportunities Fund after the close of business April 15.

Fidelity Investments said client assets at its brokerage business rose 17% last year, to $1.99 trillion at yearend.